Miles Away
by ninemelodies
Summary: Demyx has spent six years of his life in cold, drizzly New York City, miles away from his previous home in California. While spending the summer with his aunt and uncle in Cali, Demyx meets the redheaded Axel and figures out that maybe the reason he wants to stay isn't just for the warm weather and beaches.


Inspired by The Maine song Miles Away

* * *

Demyx sat at his desk, pencil tapping out the beat in his head as he waited for the final bell of his junior year to ring. That was three years of high school down, with one more to go before he was free and off to college. One more year, and he could escape the hellhole that was New York City. Don't get him wrong, it had its charms, but he was tired of the cold, the rainy drizzle that soaked everything. He wanted to be somewhere warm, somewhere sunny; he wanted to move back to California, his original home. Lucky for him, his aunt and uncle invited him to spend the summer with them in Cali. His flight left three hours after school was out, and he couldn't wait.

He flicked his eyes to the clock again, sighing and putting his head on his desk when he realized only 2 minutes had passed. Zexion, his best friend since he had moved here in fifth grade, gave him a slightly sympathetic look. He knew of Demyx's summer plans and how ready the blond was to be there. "What are you planning to do when you get there?" He asked quietly, knowing Demyx would answer him.

"First I've got to track down my aunt and uncle." Demyx lifted his head, looking at Zexion now instead of watching to clock. "I haven't seen them since we moved from Cali, so I have no clue what they look like anymore! Maybe they'll have a sign or something that says, 'Demyx!' so I can find them easily…Do you think that's too much to ask for?"

"I'm sure you'll find them just fine," Zexion said, assuring his friend with a slight smile. "Besides, they probably know what you look like. You know how your mom is with spreading pictures around."

Demyx groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Don't remind me. She sent that picture of me passed out on the couch with a sharpie mustache on my face to every single one of my living relatives. And she even sent it to people that we _aren't_ related too. Now every time I see her boss he laughs at me! I'm never gonna live that one down." He sighed loudly and glanced at the clock again. Just five minutes left.

"What are you going to do after you find your aunt and uncle?"

"I'm gonna go surfing!" The grin that stretched across Demyx's face could've lit up an entire room, and Zexion knew he was about to start rambling. "I haven't been surfing since we moved." Demyx's face fell for a minute. "I'm a little scared I've forgotten how, but I figure it's like riding a bike. Once you learn, you can never really forget, ya know?" He looked to Zexion for affirmation.

His friend gave a slight grunt, preoccupied with shoving things into his backpack. Demyx flicked his eyes to the clock one last time, noticing that the bell was about to ring. "Well, either way, I'll see you when summer is over. I'll send you pictures and everything so you don't forget about me!" Demyx stretched, reaching across his desk to give his friend one last hug. Then the bell rang and everyone was out the door in a rush of colors and noise, Demyx included. He yelled one final goodbye over his shoulder before he was herded out the door.

Ten hours later found him in the guest bedroom of his aunt and uncles house, staring at the suitcase on the floor. He knew he needed to start unpacking before dinner, but he just couldn't bring himself to get off the bed. The jet lag and the amazement of being on the other side of the country had just hit him. Tomorrow he would get to explore while his aunt and uncle were at work. Just imagining all the things he could do had him smiling. His aunt yelled his name and he jumped, breaking out of his daydreaming. "Coming!" He yelled, scrambling off the bed and downstairs. This summer was going to be fun.

By the time June ended, Demyx looked like he'd never left California at all. He had regained his tan, and he re-explored all the places he had hung out as a child. He'd even found a nice spot to surf. Luckily, his earlier guess had been right, and he had never actually forgotten how to surf. His first attempt was a little rocky, but after a week, he was surfing just like the locals. Tonight, however, he wasn't going out to surf, but to just sit on the old pier. As a child, it'd been a favorite spot of his, mostly because after he got his leg stuck in a hole where the wood had rotted through, his mother had forbidden him from playing on it.

He gave his aunt one last hug and promise to be careful before heading out the door, the only light coming from the porch. Demyx followed the path to the beach, surefooted even in the dark. He'd made this trek enough that it was becoming second nature. Eventually he reached the pier and noticed, for the first time, that it wasn't as deserted as it usually was. The old wood of the pier creaked as he stepped on it and gave his presence away to the person sitting at the end.

"Who's there?" The stranger called, turning to stare at Demyx.

Demyx stepped further out onto the pier, out of the shadows cast by the trees and into the faint moonlight. "I um…I'm Demyx. I was just coming out to sit on the pier… I didn't think there would be anyone else here." He gave a nervous laugh and scratched at his temple. "I can leave."

The stranger stared at him for a minute before turning back to face the water. "Nah, you can stay," he said, patting the empty spot next to him. "How'd you find this place anyways? It's so far from the main beaches."

"I lived here as a kid," Demyx answered, shuffling forward. He reached the spot the man indicated and swung his legs over the edge, letting them dangle just above the water line. "This was one of my favorite spots." He let the sounds of the waves hitting the shore fill the silence for a few minutes. "So…what's your name?"

The stranger started, not realizing that he hadn't given his name back. "Axel, got it memorized?"

Demyx blinked in surprise. "Yeah, I do."

"So, Demyx, what made you decide to sit beside a stranger at the end of a pier in the middle of the night?" Axel turned his head to face Demyx. "It's not the smartest of ideas, you know?"

"Honestly, it didn't cross my mind that you would be dangerous. I don't think dangerous people would be sitting at the end of a pier at nearly 2 in the morning staring at the moon, but maybe that's just me." Demyx shrugged slightly, nudging the water with the toe of his shoe. He pretended to watch the ripples silently, but he was really studying the person next to him out of the corner of his eye. In the weak moonlight, he couldn't see fine details, but he could tell Axel had sharp features, wild hair, and something under his eyes.

Axel gave him a weird look, letting Demyx know that it was in fact just him who thought that way. "You're just lucky that this time, your strange logic was right."

"So now that we've established I'm not in any danger, why did _you_ decide to let a stranger sit by you at the end of a pier in the middle of the night?" Demyx gave Axel a small smirk, turning his words from earlier on him. "It's not the smartest of ideas, you know?"

To Demyx's surprise, Axel actually laughed. "That's true, but honestly, you look about as dangerous as a teddy bear," Demyx interrupted with a small noise of disagreement. "And I'm known for making pretty reckless decisions."

The blond grumbled quietly, upset at being compared to a teddy bear. "I'll have you know I'm the scariest. I make all the other stuffed animals run for cover." He was pouting, but he didn't want Axel to know that. It was easy, being around this person he'd known for probably thirty minutes.

"Sure you do," Axel said, raising an eyebrow at Demyx. "I bet they're just scared of being impaled by your hair. How much gel is in there anyways?"

Demyx paused to pat at his hair, making sure it was still kind of in place. "A lot. It's become such a routine to do my hair now that I don't pay attention to how much gel goes in it." He paused for a moment to eye Axel's hair. "You're one to talk; you look like a human Sonic character."

Axel looked surprised, apparently having never heard that comparison before. He leaned over to look at his reflection in the water before looking back up at Demyx, "Touché."

After that, they sat around and talked for a while, throwing banter back and forth with the ease of age old friends. Demyx learned that he and Axel were the same age, and that the redhead smoked. Suddenly the comfortable atmosphere was broken by loud music coming from Demyx's back pocket. When he pulled his phone out and saw the time, he grew pale. "Shit! It's four in the morning I have to go." He scrambled to his feet before pausing to look at Axel. "Do you have a phone?" As if expecting a yes, Demyx already had his hand out.

Rolling his eyes, Axel tugged his phone from his pocket and got it to where Demyx could plug in his own phone number. After a few seconds, Axel heard a loud chime from the other's phone. "There," Demyx said, handing Axel back his phone. "My number is in there, and I just texted myself from your phone so I have yours. Now I _really_ have to go." He took off, pausing at the end of the pier to look back at Axel and yell goodbye before disappearing into the shadows.

Over the next two weeks, Axel and Demyx became inseparable. Their quick friendship baffled everyone, and eventually it got to the point where if someone was looking for one of them, they would look for both of them. If you spotted one, the other was probably close by causing some sort of trouble.

Then came the day where Demyx didn't see Axel at all. He had texted his redheaded friend, even attempted to call him when he realized that his friend hadn't shown up at the pier. Demyx was worried, and spent the entire day waiting at the pier. Eventually, at around one in the morning, Axel showed up with a cigarette held in between his fingers. The blond spotted the cherry red glow before he spotted the person holding it. He didn't move; just let Axel make his way to his normal spot.

The redhead stopped short when he realized Demyx was there at the end of the pier. Axel scratched at the back of his head as he sat down, giving a sheepish sort of chuckle. "How long have you been here?"

"Pretty much all day," Demyx answered, staring out at the reflection of the moon in the water. "Where were you?" He finally asked, turning to make eye contact with Axel.

Another sheepish laugh fell from Axel's lips. "I woke up late and then got dragged out with the family. I left my phone at home so I didn't get your texts until I got back…" He threw the butt of his cigarette into the ocean before pulling out another from the pack hidden in his pocket.

Demyx watched him do this before leaning forward to take the cigarette from Axel. "I was just worried," he said, twirling the cancer stick in between his fingers. "You're always the first one here and so when I got here and you weren't here…" He paused to shake his head, chasing away all the bad thoughts he'd been nursing throughout the day. "I thought you'd died or something!" He joked, nudging the redhead with his elbow.

Axel laughed, already lighting another cigarette. "So your only solution was to sit around and mourn my death on this rotting old pier?" He took a drag from his cigarette. "Nice life choices, Dem."

"Shut up," the blond muttered, watching Axel smoke.

It didn't go unnoticed that Demyx was staring at him, and finally Axel turned to look at the blond. The stolen cigarette was still being twirled in Demyx's long fingers. The redhead started at it for a moment before making eye contact with the blond. "Do you want me to light that?" He asked, motioning towards the cigarette. "Or do you just want to keep playing with it?"

Cyan eyes flickered down to the cigarette in his hand. Demyx had honestly forgotten he was holding the stolen cigarette. He pretended to think about it for a moment before a mischievous grin spread across his face. "Might as well do something illegal while I'm here," he muttered, holding the cigarette out for Axel to light.

"Thought you didn't smoke," Axel asked, already lighting the stolen cigarette.

"I don't," Demyx answered; bringing the cancer stick up to his lips. He had no idea what he was doing and he was one hundred percent sure this was a bad idea, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time. Plus, it would probably give him one hell of a funny story to tell. He wasn't disappointed. Demyx took one drag before launching into a violent coughing fit.

"Fucking hell Axel," he muttered when he was finished. "That's awful." Axel was laughing too hard to answer the blond. With a slight scowl, Demyx threw the cigarette into the ocean before leaning over and shoving the still laughing Axel in as well.

The redhead came up with a sputtering gasp, glaring at Demyx from under soaked bangs. "Oh," he said, slowly swimming closer to the blond who was frantically scooting away. "That's how you wanna play huh?" When he got close enough, he launched out of the water, grabbing a hold of Demyx's ankles and pulling him in.

Unlike Axel, Demyx resurfaced laughing. His hair hung down around his face, hiding his eyes from view. It was the first time Axel had ever seen Demyx without his hair spiked into that ridiculous mullet thing. Demyx began swimming circles around the redhead, splashing him every now and then. They didn't stay in the water long, and as they got out, Demyx's phone began to ring from where it had fallen on the pier.

"Oops," he muttered, jogging to get it. He shook the water off his hand before answering it and telling whoever was on the other end that yes, he was fine, and yes, he would be home soon. After hanging up, he jogged back to where Axel was standing and wringing out his hair.

As Demyx got closer, he could hear that Axel was muttering that it was a good thing he liked the blond or else he'd be dead meat.

"Glad to know that," Demyx said, stopping in front of the redhead. "But I gotta go. My aunt is freaking out." He gave Axel one last sopping hug and a sloppy, slobbery kiss on the cheek. "See ya!"

Axel stared after him, one hand still touching the spot where Demyx had kissed him. Did the blond even know that he had done that? He wondered as he headed home, shoes squelching with all the excess water. Axel chose to believe that Demyx had known what he was doing, and the thought brought a smile to his face.

The last week of summer vacation Axel somehow managed to acquire a six pack of hard apple cider. Demyx didn't question where it came from; he just sat next to Axel and helped him drink it. By the time he was halfway through his third one, the warm feeling had settled into his stomach and Demyx was finding everything pretty amusing. He was tipsy, very much so, but he wasn't drunk. He still kind of knew what he was saying.

"I have to leave soon," Demyx said, staring down at the bottle clasped in between his hands. "I have to go back to New York."

Axel swirled the liquid around in his bottle, refusing to look at the blond. "Well, you knew you would, right?" He swallowed the sour taste in his mouth at the thought of Demyx leaving before he took another swig of his drink. "You knew it wasn't going to last."

Demyx sighed loudly before flopping back onto the pier. "I knew, yeah." He drained what was left of his cider but kept the bottle in his hand. "I knew and yet I got so attached."

"To what? Most people that come here don't get attached to anything but the beaches, and that doesn't seem like something you'd do." Even though they'd only been friends for two months, Axel could read Demyx like the back of his hand. He knew the blond was upset, and he also knew the blond was holding something back.

Demyx chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before muttering something Axel couldn't head. The redhead leaned closer as the blond repeated what he'd said, but louder. "You," he said, "I got attached to you."

Axel leaned back, mulling over what Demyx had said. "Dem," he said, nudging the blond's leg to get him to sit up and pay attention to what the redhead was saying. The blond did sit up and turned to look Axel dead in the eyes. "Listen uh…I don't know how to say this but…" Pausing, he averted his eyes and reached his empty hand up to rub at the back of his head, a gesture he made when he was nervous. "I…like you," he finished lamely, eyes flickering up to make brief contact with Demyx's.

Being the coherent tipsy person he was, Demyx didn't quite understand. "Well of course you like me… You wouldn't be here drinking cider with me if you didn't." The blond was clearly confused. He wondered if that meant that Axel hadn't liked him before.

Rolling his eyes, Axel set down his almost empty bottle of cider before leaning closer to Demyx. "Yes, that's true. But to put it like a middle schooler would. Demyx, I like _like_ you."

"Oh, that makes more sense."

By now, Axel was really close, his forehead resting against Demyx's. "Dem can I…can I kiss you?" When he felt Demyx nod, he moved forward, brushing his lips across Dem's. It wasn't much, just a simple brush of the lips. They were like kids dipping their toes into the new pool to see how the waters were, and for now, they were okay.

When he pulled back, Demyx was grinning and they were both red. Demyx was the one that finally broke the silence. "So I guess that means we'll have to figure out a long distance relationship, huh?"

Axel nodded, "I guess it does."

Still grinning, Demyx answered an unspoken question. "We can do it. We'll make it work."

Soon after that, Demyx was rushed home. He gave Axel one last kiss in the airport, much to the surprise of his aunt and uncle, before boarding his flight home. As soon as he stepped into the chilly plane, he realized how much he missed Axel's warmth.

Senior year seemed to take forever yet pass in no time at all. He usually spent Saturday night's skyping with Axel, listening to him rant about his day and about the guy in his metal shop that pissed him off to no end. They laughed together, and they still talked, but Demyx missed him really bad. His grades slipped a bit as he spent the majority of class time stuck in California, wondering what Axel was doing and wishing that he was there instead of snowy, cold New York.

It was finally Zexion that noticed something was off. He scolded Demyx gently that day at lunch. "You aren't going to get to see him again if your grades fall," was what he had opened with. Demyx had told Zexion all about Axel the instant he had seen his friend on the first day of school.

"Huh?" Demyx asked, snapped out of whatever daydream he was in.

"You," Zexion said, stabbing at a greasy piece of broccoli, "Need to keep your grades up so that you," he shoved the piece of broccoli in his mouth. "Can go to college in Cali and get to see your redheaded boyfriend."

Demyx had flushed, still not used to the idea of having a boyfriend. "You're right," he finally said, tearing his chicken sandwich bun into small pieces. "I'll stop daydreaming." And he had. Within two weeks his grades were back were they normally were, and he seemed to be less mopey.

He graduated in the top ten percent of his class, and he got to see his best friend graduate as valedictorian. Zexion was still wringing his robe when Demyx found him an hour later. "That speech was great!" He yelled, throwing his arms around his smaller friend. "You did awesome." Demyx gave Zexion a grin to show he wasn't joking. "Now, what do you say we go enjoy these high school diplomas by going back to my house and pigging out on candy and soda while playing some video games?"

"Sounds good," Zexion said as he followed Demyx to the blond's car.

For the next two days, all Demyx did was catch up on sleep lost during finals. In fact, he was still asleep at 3:30 when the sound of his doorbell ringing woke him up. He shuffled out of bed, not bothering to pull on a shirt. The only person who rang his doorbell was Zexion, and he had definitely seen the blond shirtless too many times to count.

He stopped in front of his door to rub sleep from his eyes, and then he reached forward to pull the door open. "Zexion," he began, already started on his normal rant about not needing to ring the doorbell, "How many times-" he cut off when he realized it wasn't Zexion standing at his door step.

There, still dressed in clothes fit for California, was Axel. Demyx blinked once, twice, trying to understand the sight before him. When he finally realized that Axel was there, he rushed forward, pulling the redhead into a bone crushing hug. "You're supposed to be in California, why are you on my doorstep?" The question came out a lot harsher than he intended so he backtracked. "Not that I'm not happy to see you…but…how did you get here?" Demyx stepped back, letting Axel into his house.

"I flew." Axel was busy looking around Demyx's house. "I came to get you." When he realized what he said, he turned red. "I mean, I got my own place in Cali and I figured since you got accepted to a college down there you would need a place to stay so…" At this point Axel realized he was rambling and he stopped himself with a deep breath. "Dem, would you like to be my roommate?"

Demyx grinned widely, already nodding. "Of course!"

Axel grinned back, relieved that Demyx had accepted. "We're going to have a hell of a time getting all your stuff down there."

"We can do it," Demyx said, copying the words he had used on the pier at the end of the summer. "We'll make it work."


End file.
